Berlin Wall

Established in 1961, It stopped refugees from communist East Germany from escaping to Capitalist West Germany. Although it stemmed the flow of refugees, It openly displayed the lack of legitimacy the regime had among its own people.

Cold War

The ideological struggle between communism (Soviet Union) and capitalism (United States) for world influence. The Soviet Union and the United States came to the brink of actual war during the Cuban missile crisis but never attacked one another.

Containment

a U.S. foreign policy adopted by President Harry Truman in the late 1940s, in which the United States tried to stop the spread of communism by creating alliances and helping weak countries to resist Soviet advances

Cuban Missile Crisis

an international crisis in October 1962, the closest approach to nuclear war at any time between the U.S. and the USSR. When the U.S. discovered Soviet nuclear missiles on Cuba, President John F. Kennedy demanded their removal and announced a naval blockade of the island; the Soviet leader Khrushchev acceded to the U.S. demands a week later.

Decolonization

The reversal of Europe's overseas expansion caused by the rising demand of Asian and African peoples for national self-determination, racial equality, and personal dignity., The collapse of colonial empires. Between 1947 and 1962, practically all former colonies in Asia and Africa gained independence.

De-Stalinization

Detente

a reduction in hostility, trying to cool the costly arms race and trying to slow their competition in developing countries. Strategic Arms Limitiations Talks a.k.a SALT were held to reduce the threat of the strategic nuclear weapons.

Domestic Containment

The search for communists within the US during the 1950s. It resulted thousands of people with radical, liberal, and communist views lost their jobs and reputations. Conforming to a socially sanctioned way of life and avoiding suspicion became the norm during the early years of the cold war.

Domino Theory

Gamal Abdel Nasser

Arab leader of Egypt, set out to modernize Egypt and end western domination, nationalized the Suez canal, led two wars against the Zionist state, remained a symbol of independence and pride, returned to socialism, nationalized banks and businesses, limited economic policies

Glasnost

Great Leap Forward

China's second five-year plan under the leadership of the impatient Mao, it aimed to speen up economic development while simultaneously developing a completely socialitst society. Took away private ownership and made farms communal. This plan failed and more than 20 million people starved between 1958 and 1960.

Ho Chi Minh

Iran-Contra Scandal

A political scandal in the United States which came to light in November 1986, during the Reagan administration, in which senior US figures agreed to facilitate the sale of arms to Iran, the subject of an arms embargo, to secure the release of hostages and to fund Nicaraguan contras.

Iranian Revolution

refers to events involving the overthrow of Iran's monarchy (Pahlavi dynasty) under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and its replacement with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the revolution.

Iron Curtain

Islamism

A fundamentalist Islamic revivalist movement generally characterized by moral conservatism and the literal interpretation of the Quran and the attempt to implement Islamic values in all aspects of life.

Israel

In 1947 the UN General Assembly had approved the creation of a Jewish homeland by ending the British mandate in Palestine and partitioning it into two states: one Jewish and one Arab because of the influence of the Zionists after the Holocaust. On May 14, 1948, the Jews proclaimed this state, and all of the surrounding Arab nations declared war and invaded. After a short war, the Israelis gained control of the country. The US was the first country to diplomatically recognize this country, alienating many Arab nations close to it

Korean Conflict

The Korean War was fought from 1950 to 1953. The North was supported by USSR and later People's Republic of China while the South was supported by U.S. and small United Nations force. The war ended in stalemate, with Korea still divided into North and South.

Kwame Nkrumah

Leader of nonviolent protests for freedom on the Gold Coast. When independence was gained, he became the first prime minister of Ghana. He develpoped economic projects, but was criticized for spending too much time on Pan-African efforts, and neglecting his own countries' issues

MAD

Mao Zedong

1893-1976. Chinese military and political leader who led the Communist Party of China to victory against the Kuomintang in the Chinese Civil War. Leader of the People's Republic of China from establishment in 1949 till death in 1976. Heralded as an influential leader who transformed China into world power. Programs led to large unnecessary loss of life and damage to the culture, society, economy, and foreign relations.

Mau Mau Rebellion

Mikhail Gorbachev

Head of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991. His liberalization effort improved relations with the West, but he lost power after his reforms led to the collapse of Communist governments in eastern Europe.

NATO

an international organization created in 1949 by the North Atlantic Treaty for purposes of collective security, North Atlantic Treaty Organization; an alliance made to defend one another if they were attacked by any other country; US, England, France, Canada, Western European countries

Perestroika

Sandinistas

Members of a leftist coalition that overthrew the Nicaraguan dictatorship of Anastasia Somoza in 1979 and attempted to install a socialist economy. The United States financed armed opposition by the Contras. The Sandinistas lost national elections in 1990

Sputnik

Suez Crisis

July 26, 1956, Nasser (leader of Egypt) nationalized the Suez Canal, Oct. 29, British, French and Israeli forces attacked Egypt. UN forced British to withdraw; made it clear Britain was no longer a world power